A study on techniques to improve English vocabulary for 3th graders at Quang Trung primary school in Hai Phong

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG
-------------------------------

ISO 9001 : 2008

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ

HẢI PHÒNG - 2012
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HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT
-----------------------------------

GRADUATION PAFER

A STUDY ON TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE
ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR 3TH GRADERS AT
QUANG TRUNG PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HAI PHONG

By:
ĐỖ THỊ TRANG
Class:
NA 1202
Supervisor:
NGUYỄN THỊ HUYỀN,MA

HAI PHONG - 2012

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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG
--------------------------------------

Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp

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Nhiệm vụ đề tài
1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt
nghiệp
( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ).
…………………………………………………………………………
…..
…………………………………………………………………………
…..

…………………………………………………………………………
Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán.
…………………………………………………………………………
…..

…………………………………………………………………………
…..
2. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
…………………………………………………………………………

…..
…………………………………………………………………………
…..

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CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI
Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất:
Họ và tên:.............................................................................................
Học hàm, học vị:...................................................................................
Cơ quan công tác:.................................................................................
Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................

Người hướng dẫn thứ hai:
Họ và tên:.............................................................................................
Học hàm, học vị:...................................................................................
Cơ quan công tác:.................................................................................
Nội dung hướng dẫn:............................................................................
Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày …. tháng …. năm 2012
Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày … tháng …. năm 2012

Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN

Đã giao nhiệm vụ

ĐTTN
Người hướng dẫn

Sinh viên

Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2012
HIỆU TRƯỞNG

GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị
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PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN
1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt
nghiệp:
…………………………………………………………………………
…..
…………………………………………………………………………
…..

2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra
trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số
liệu…):
…………………………………………………………………………
…..
…………………………………………………………………………
…..

3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ):
…………………………………………………………………………
…..
…………………………………………………………………………
…..
…………………………………………………………………………

Hải Phòng, ngày ….. tháng ..… năm
2012
Cán bộ hướng dẫn
(họ tên và chữ ký)

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NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ
CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP
1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân
tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài.

2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện :
(Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ)

Ngày.......... tháng......... năm 2012
Người chấm phản biện

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1.Rationale
It is can not to denied that English is the international medium of
communication in the fields of science, technology, culture, education,
economy and so on. It is also considered a means to promote mutual
understanding and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries. It is
widely seen as the key language toll in the integrating process in the world.
With the rapid development and expansion of informatics technologies, there

needs to be a common language for people of all countries to exchange
information with each other and it is English that is used as a means of
international communication. Therefore, there has been an explosion in the
need of teaching and learning English all over the world.
It has been, in fact said that language was a house, vocabulary would be
as construction material to build up that house. Therefore when teaching a
new language for learner, vocabulary must be the background to develop like
building a house, if the foundation is strong the house will be firm.
Therefore, studying a language cannot be separated from studying
vocabulary. Yet it is true that the vocabulary is the focus of language. It is in
words that sound and meaning interlock to allow us to communicate with one
another, and it is word that we arrange together to make sentences,
conversation, and discourse of all kinds. Besides, vocabulary really plays an
important role because it appears in every language skills: listening, speaking,
reading, writing . Obviously, vocabulary is really important in any language
learning.
However, it is not easy to study perfect English vocabulary. Almost
students often face up with some problems in learning vocabulary at first,
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especially primary students. In fact, it is difficult to memorize a new word
with its meaning, spelling and pronunciation, many primary students are often
confused with knowing how can apply grammar into sentences, sometimes,
they can not understand when being opposed to video and audio. Moreover,
techniques to teach English in primary schools is traditional teaching methods
and similar activities days by days, which makes students become fed up with
learning English. Therefore, interesting techniques to teach English are
necessary to help

3th students learn English vocabulary better, they also

attract students’ interest on English.
From the above reasons, I have the ambition of presenting some
effective techniques to teach English vocabulary for students at Quang Trung
primary school with hope that students will be interesting in learning English.
Due to my English knowledge limitation and the frame of the graduation
paper, I would like to choose the research

paper entitle: ―A study on

techniques to improve English vocabulary for 3th graders at Quang
Trung primary school in Hai Phong”
2. Aims of the study
Being a student of English department, I would like to contribute some
idea as well as find out some techniques to improve teaching and learning
English for 3th graders . To summarize the above, my study is aimed at:
 To find out difficulties in teaching and learning English for English
teachers as well as 3th graders at Quang Trung primary school.
 Find out appropriate techniques for teaching vocabulary lesson which draw
student attention in to the lesson. The student will feel interested,
enjoyable and funny when they come into the lesson. Some effective
techniques will be given out in order to make student study English better.
3. Scope of the study
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In fact, there are lots of various techniques to teach English for primary
students, especially 3th graders. It requires much of time and effort.
However, due to the limitation of time, resources and knowledge of mine,

this study can only focus on difficulties that 3th graders encounter when they
learn English vocabulary and study
teaching

vocabulary

some

effective

techniques

in

(meaning, form, use) for 3th graders at Quang Trung

primary school in Hai Phong city.
4. Methods of the study
To complete this graduation paper, the following methods has been adopted:
First, survey questionnaires are conducted on the teaching and learning
English vocabulary for 3th graders at Quang Trung primary school in Hai
Phong.
Besides, observation class is employed
5. Designs of the study
The study is divided into three main parts: Introduction, Development,
and conclusion.
Part I: Introduction shows the reasons to choose the study, the aims, scope,
methods and design of the study.
Part II: Development consists of three chapters:
Chapter 1: ―Theoretical background‖ focuses on the aims to answer the

questions related to vocabulary, and

techniques to teaching English

vocabulary for pupils at primary school.
Chapter 2: ―The study on techniques to teach English vocabulary for 3th
graders at Quang Trung primary school in Hai Phong‖ refers to the survey
questionnaire and analyzed findings of questionnaire results.

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Chapter 3: ―Some suggested techniques in teaching vocabulary for 3th
graders at Quang Trung primary school in Hai Phong ‖ that contains some
techniques to teach vocabulary and some more suggested activities to attract
students.
Part III:

Conclusion in which all the issued mentioned above are

summarized.
To sum up, Part I has referred to rationale, aims, scope, methods and design
of the graduation paper. In Part II, the study introduces the literature review,
the study on techniques to teach English vocabulary for 3th graders at Quang
Trung primary school in Hai Phong and some suggested techniques in
teaching vocabulary them.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
“If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is
vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh”, (Harmer 1993-153).
Ever since language teaching came into its own as a profession in the
twentieth century, there have been persistent considerations of vocabulary in
whatever

approaches

and

methods

are

involved

in

classroom

teaching ,despite the fact that so me approaches or methods do not attach
saliency to

the role which vocabulary plays. Recently, however,

methodologists and linguists have increasingly turning their attention to
vocabulary, stressing its importance in language teaching and reassessing
some of the ways in which it is taught and learned.

CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I. Vocabulary
Firstly, to master the techniques of improving vocabulary, especially for 3th
graders at Quang Trung Primary school in Hai Phong, it is impossible
not to mention the concept of vocabulary.
I.1. Definition
In fact, there are many definitions of vocabulary which can be
found

in

many various resources. Here are some main definitions of

vocabulary:
According to Steven Stalh (2005), it has been said that

―Vocabulary

knowledge is knowledge, the knowledge of a word not only implies a
definition, but also implies how that word first into the world..‖ Vocabulary
knowledge is not something that can ever be fully mastered, it is
something that expands and deepens over the course of a lifetime.
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Because instruction in vocabulary involves far more than looking up
words in a dictionary and using the words in sentence. Moreover,
vocabulary is acquired incidentally through indirect exposure to words
and intentionally through explicit instruction in specific instruction in
specific words and word-learning strategies.

From the book entitled

―A course in Language Teaching‖

written by Penny Ur (1990:60) vocabulary is defined ―Vocabulary can
be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language.
However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single word. For
example “foot-path”, “railway station”, “forget-me-not”, which are made
up of more than one word but express a single idea. There are also
multi-word idioms such as ―once in a blue moon‖, where the meaning of
the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the component words. A
useful convention is to cover all such cases by talking about vocabulary
―items‖ rather than ―words‖ .
According to Richard, Platt (1992), vocabulary is ―a set of lexemes,
including single words, compound words and idioms.”(p. 40). Whereas, the
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995:1331) offered its own definition.
Vocabulary here is simply understood as ―the total number of words in a
language.”
Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Hoc (2002) considered their following
definition of vocabulary as ―logical‖. According to them, when the term
―vocabulary‖ of a language was mentioned, it should be mentioned as
consisting of all the words, compounds and idioms used to transmit
information on both ―oral and written communication‖.
In conclusion, it is easy to see that there are many ways to define
vocabulary. The way that linguists choose to define vocabulary depends on
the way he assesses the importance of the components of each language. Of
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all the above definitions, the one that Richard and Platt (1992) proposes in the

Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics is perhaps one of the
most widely-accepted definitions since it given us the whole scope of
vocabulary.
I.2. Types of vocabulary
Vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings. However,
vocabulary is more complex than this definition suggests. Words come in two
forms: oral and print. Oral vocabulary includes those words that we recognize
and use in listening and speaking. Print vocabulary includes those words that
we recognize and use in reading and writing (Kamil & Hiebert, in press).
I.2.1. Reading vocabulary
Reading vocabulary is made up of the words in print that we recognize
or can figure out.
A person's reading vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when
reading. This is the largest type of vocabulary simply because it includes the
other three.
The extent of students’ vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to their
reading comprehension and overall academic success . This relationship
seems logical to get meaning from what they read, students need both a great
many words in their vocabularies and the ability to use various strategies to
establish the meanings of new words when they encounter them.
I.2.2. Listening vocabulary
Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to
understand what we hear.
A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize
when listening to speech. This vocabulary is aided in size by context and tone
of voice.
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I.2.3. Writing vocabulary

Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing. A person's
writing vocabulary is all the words he or she can employ in writing. Contrary
to the previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is stimulated by
its user.
I.2.4. Speaking vocabulary
Speaking vocabulary consists of the words we use in everyday speech.
A person's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech.
Due to the spontaneous nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often
misused. This misuse – though slight and unintentional – may be
compensated by facial expressions, tone of voice, or hand gestures.
However according to John Friedlander – associate professor in
English department at Southwest Tennessee community college, vocabulary is
divided to two types: concrete vocabulary and abstract vocabulary.
I.2.5. Concrete vocabulary
Concrete vocabulary refer to objects or events that are available to the senses.
Examples of concrete vocabulary include spoon, table, velvet eye patch, nose
ring, sinus mask, green, hot, walking. Because these terms refer to objects or
events we can see or hear or feel or taste or smell, their meanings are pretty
stable. If you ask me what I mean by the word spoon, I can pick up a spoon
and show it to you.
I.2.6. Abstract vocabulary
Abstract vocabulary refer to ideas or concepts; they have no physical referents.
Examples of abstract vocabulary include love, success, freedom, good, moral,
democracy, and any -ism (chauvinism, Communism, feminism, racism,
sexism). These terms are fairly common and familiar, and because we

15


recognize them we may imagine that we understand them—but we really can't,

because the meanings won't stay still.
Take love as an example. You've heard and used that word since you were
three or four years old. Does it mean to you now what it meant to you when
you were five? when you were ten? when you were fourteen (!)? I'm sure
you'll share my certainty that the word changes meaning when we marry,
when we divorce, when we have children, when we look back at lost parents
or spouses or children. The word stays the same, but the meaning keeps
changing.
I.3. The importance of vocabulary
It is impossible to assume the importance of vocabulary in English
learning because of different reasons. Partly, it is the key to master English
knowledge.
On a personal level, a good vocabulary is important in sharpening one’s
perception. Thought and perception, to become fully conscious, must be
formulated in words.
Thus the more words one has to make fine distinctions among
one’s own observations or feelings and among things in the world, the more
one can become a fully

aware

and

perceptive

human

being.

Not

surprisingly, some psychological research studies have validated the
hypothesis that vocabulary and mental acuity are interrelated.
A good vocabulary is important not only for more precision in thought
but also in one’s daily affairs, the actions one must perform both on and off
the job in ordinary living. Basically, people can relate to other people (love
ones, friends, co-workers, society at large) and the rest of the external
world (nature) in only two ways: physically and verbally.

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Vocabulary plays an important role in combining 4 basic English
skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Naturally, when
having

multiform vocabulary, it is extremely advantageous to develop 4

above skills. For example, if we lack of necessary vocabulary, it will be
difficult to express any ideas to others. Therefore, our speaking skill cannot
make any progress. Moreover, sometimes it makes confusion

among

people and lead to many inconvenient situations. Additionally, if it is
supposed that you have a poor vocabulary, how can you write a lively and
excellent essay or normal paragraphs? Truly, it requires a great number of
vocabulary.
We have to understand and remember what we have learned to use
vocabulary in each situation effectively. Frequently reading comprehension,

and thus retention are faulty because of a learner s less than adequate
vocabulary. With the lack of vocabulary, it is difficult to communicate with
other people confidently. Moreover, it is easy to have misunderstanding in the
process of exchanging information. It is hard to express ideas and explain
something necessary. Only when having a great number of vocabulary can
we make a progress in developing 4 skills. In communication, it is a
decisive factor to make us talk with others actively and understand each
other quickly. With a poor vocabulary, the free flow of ideas and pen is
blocked and dribbles out. With a good vocabulary, it will be helped to flow,
unimpeded.
Consider the importance of vocabulary in learning foreign language.
The mastery of this element should be ensured and developed. Otherwise
the vocabulary mastery of learners as children will be limited and
consequence of it is that they will find difficulties in learning the skill of
language.

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I.4. What need to be studied
Learning foreign language requires you to spend a lot a time on
studying vocabulary. Learning English vocabulary, too. When we learn a new
word we have to focus on 3 mains: meaning, form, and grammar.
I.4.1. Meaning
The first thing to realize about vocabulary items is that they frequently
have more than one meaning, so when you learn a new word you should
decipher is meaning in the context in which is used. Another fact about
meaning is that sometimes words have meaning in relation to other
words. Thus, you need to know the meaning of

animal

word to

describe anyone of a number of other thing, eg: elephant,

peacock,

penguin, etc.

Animal

has a general meaning while elephant is

more specific. We understand the meaning of the word like

good in the

context of word like bad . Words have opposites (antonyms) and they
also have other words in similar meaning (synonyms) eg: bad and evil .
Even in that example, however, one thing is clear: words seldom have
absolute synonyms although context may take them synonymous on
particular occasions. As far as meaning goes, them, you need to know
about the meaning in context and sense relation.
Word meaning is meant that having something particular in mind
when saying a word.
The field of semantics is often understood as a branch of
linguistics,

but

non-idealized meaning as a type of semantics is more

accurately a branch of psychology and ethics. Meaning in so far is it is
objectified by not considering particular situations and the real intentions
of speakers and writers examines the ways in which words, phrases,
and sentences can seem to have meaning. This type of semantics
contrasted

with

communication-focused

semantics

is

where
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understanding the intent and assumptions of particular speakers and
writers is primary as in the idea that people mean and not words, sentences or
propositions. An underlying difference is that where causes are identified with
relations or laws then it is normal to objectify meaning and consider it a
branch of linguistics, while if causes are identified with particular agents,
objects, or forces as if to cause means to influence as most historians and
practical people assume, then real or non-objectified meaning is primary
and we are dealing with intent or purpose as an aspect of human
psychology, especially since human intent can be and often is

independent of language and linguistics.
I.4.2.

Form

I.4.2.1

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is extremely important in the process of learning English
vocabulary as well as all other languages all over the world. Obviously,
pronunciation plays an important role in making listeners understand what we
are speaking about. In fact, it is not easy to pronounce an English vocabulary
exactly without practicing many times day by day. In order to pronounce a
word well, it is necessary to learn from dictionary- a reliable source.
Moreover, it is very effective for us to listen directly on television or through
internet, radio

especially from daily conversations among different people.

When pronouncing a certain English word, we should pay attention to
the stress of that word and the intonation of whole sentences. Good
pronunciation helps us have confidence in expressing our all ideas
freely and comfortably. However, if we make too many mistakes in
pronouncing English vocabulary, it may make listeners confused and
lead to wrong information transmission.
A consideration of learner’s pronunciation errors and how these
can inhibit successful communication is useful basis on which to assess why
it is important to 12 deal with pronunciation in the classroom. When a learner
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says, for example, soap in a situation such as restaurant where they should
have said

soup , the inaccurate production of a phoneme can lead to

misunderstanding. This can be very frustrating for learner who may have a
good command of grammar and lexis but have difficulty in understanding
and being understood by a native speaker.

Learners who are out-going, confident, and willing to take risks
probably have more opportunities to practice their pronunciation of the
second language simply they are more often involved in interactions with
native speakers. Conversely, who are introverted, inhibited, and unwilling to
take risks lack opportunities for practice ESL

teacher

should

strive

to

create a non-threatening atmosphere in their classrooms so that student
participation is encouraged.
I.4.3. Spelling.
Spelling is defined that

the writing of a word or words with the

necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted standard order. It
is one of the elements of orthography and a prescriptive element of
alphabetic languages . Most spellings attempt to approximate a transcribing
of the sounds of the language into alphabetic letter. However, completely
phonetic spellings are often the exception, due to drifts in pronunciations over
time and irregular spellings adopted through common usage.
Spelling is very important when it comes to understanding
English and communicating properly. Spelling words in English is
challenging work. As a matter of fact, many native speakers of English
have problems with spelling correctly. One of the main reasons for this is
that many, many English words are not spelled as they are spoken. This
difference between pronunciation and spelling causes a lot of confusion.

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Therefore teaching English spelling for the beginner like children must be
easy to understand, visible and interesting.
I.4.4.Grammar
The grammar of a new item will need to be studied if this is not
obviously covered by general grammatical rules. An item may have an
unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts or may give
some idiosyncratic ways of connecting with other words in sentences; it is
important to provide learners with this information at the same as we study
the base form. When studying a new verb, for example, we might give also its
past form, if this is irregular (buy – bought), and we might note if it is
transitive of intransitive. Similarly, when studying a noun, we may wish to
present its plural form, if irregular

(mouse – mice), or draw learners’

attention to the fact that is has no plural at all (happiness, information). We
may present verb such as want and enjoy together with the verb form that
follows them (want to, enjoy), or adjective or verbs together with their
following prepositions (interesting in, accuse somebody of).
I.5. How to teach English vocabulary for pupils at primary schools.
Teaching techniques are the ways in which the information to be
learned is presented. Teaching techniques vary in terms of the medium
(text book, video, computer, etc,...) structure of the program, how the
teacher operates, and how progress is monitored and tested. The
teaching techniques that is best for the students is often not economically
feasible, especially in terms of public schooling. Reducing class size is
expensive, and many schools don t have the budget to maintain small
classes. Similarly, the teaching resources best suited to the students, such as
the latest technology, may not be available to the teacher, teachers
must find the best techniques to teach the students using the resources
available to them.
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These are popular techniques for teaching English vocabulary for pupils at
primary schools.
I.5.1.Teaching English by putting student-centered learning method into
practice
There are many definitions of student-centred learning, according to Mr
Canno ( 2000):
Student-centred learning describes ways of thinking about learning and
teaching that emphasize student responsibility for such activities as planning

learning, interacting with teachers and other students, researching, and
assessing learning.
Student-centred learning has student responsibility and activity at its heart, in
contrast to the stronger emphasis on teacher-control and the coverage of
academic content found in much conventional, didactic teaching.
Student responsibility and independence help to develop characteristics of
lifelong learners—motivation, self-evaluation, time management and the
skills to access information. Research in student learning underscores the
importance of concentrating on what learners do, and why they think they are
doing it, rather than what the teacher. Problem-based learning is an
outstanding example of student-centred learning in higher education.
According to the book which is used in second level education (post-primary),
entitled ―A Guide to Student-Centred Learning‖,

the main principles of

student-centred learning as:
The learner has full responsibility for her/his learning
Involvement and participation are necessary for learning
The relationship between learners is more equal, promoting growth,
development

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The teacher becomes a facilitator and resource person
The learner experiences confluence in his education (affective and
cognitive domains flow together)
The learner sees himself differently as a result of the learning
experience.

In developed countries, Teaching method ―put student-centered learning
method into practice‖ was applied to school many years ago. With this
teaching method, the student will explore the knowledge by themselves, the
teacher only is the guide and provide information. The student have to solve
difficulties as well as answer the questions arise in learning process by
themselves, the teacher is only considered as ― referee‖

and ―adviser‖.

Teacher play role leading, evoking, inspire inspiration in the student. In order
to become the referee and the adviser, the teacher must have deep and broad
knowledge, and they always improve and confirm their knowledge by
studying books, and documents.
With enthusiastic guidance and close supervision, students learn more
positively and Self-consciously as well as search new knowledge. Each
student has to find out the optimal learning method for themselves, and
research the documents, do the exercises individually after getting the
guidance from the teacher. So, students more and more promote their
independence and creative.
I.5.2. Teaching English by putting students into groups
From the hard copy book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; JosseyBass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993.
Students learn best when they are actively involved in the process.
Researchers report that, regardless of the subject matter, students working in
small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than
23


when the same content is presented in other instructional formats. Students
who work in collaborative groups also appear more satisfied with their classes.
(Sources: Beckman, 1990; Chickering and Gamson, 1991; Collier, 1980;

Cooper and Associates, 1990; Goodsell, Maher, Tinto, and Associates, 1992;
Johnson and Johnson, 1989; Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991; Kohn, 1986;
McKeachie, Pintrich, Lin, and Smith, 1986; Slavin, 1980, 1983; Whitman,
1988)
Various names have been given to this form of teaching, and there are
some distinctions among these: cooperative learning, collaborative learning,
collective learning, learning communities, peer teaching, peer learning,
reciprocal learning, team learning, study circles, study groups, and work
groups. But all in all, there are three general types of group work: informal
learning groups, formal learning groups, and study teams (adapted from
Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991).
Informal learning groups : the teacher should cluster students within
a single class session. Informal learning groups can be initiated, for example,
by asking students to turn to a neighbor and spend two minutes discussing a
question the teacher have posed. The teacher can also form groups of three to
five to solve a problem or pose a question. The teacher can organize informal
groups at any time in a class of any size to check on students' understanding
of the material, to give students an opportunity to apply what they are
learning, or to provide a change of pace.
Formal learning groups are teams established to complete a specific
task, such as perform a lab experiment, write a report, carry out a project, or
prepare a position paper. These groups may complete their work in a single
class session or over several weeks. Typically, students work together until
the task is finished, and their project is graded.

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Study teams are long-term groups (usually existing over the course of a
semester) with stable membership whose primary responsibility is to provide

members with support, encouragement, and assistance in completing course
requirements and assignments. Study teams also inform their members about
lectures and assignments when someone has missed a session. The larger the
class and the more complex the subject matter, the more valuable study teams
can be.
Studying in a group with teacher’s guidance is a new learning method
and effectiveness method. This method is applied in teaching and learning at
many school in Vietnam. The students are divided in group 3 people or 5
people in order to discuss a small problem, or students can work in pair to
exchange their idea the topic which they have. At the end of the discuss, the
students will present their idea as well as their group’s idea in front all
students in the class. And students in other groups have to give the comment,
the comment can be true or false, or give supplementary ideas. When use this
method in teaching, the teacher should put the student in many groups, with
this way, a students have chance to work with many students, so the students
are more active more intelligent.
In order to control and organize groups effectively, teachers should use
following tips when put their students into groups:
Firstly, teacher plans for each stage of group work. When teacher is
writing syllabus for the course, decide which topics, themes, or projects
might lend themselves to formal group work. Think about how you will
organize students into groups, help groups negotiate among themselves,
provide feedback to the groups, and evaluate the products of group work.
Secondly, teacher carefully explains to her class how the groups will
operate and how students will be graded. As teacher would when making any
assignment, explain the objectives of the group task and define any relevant
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